Chapter 1, The Memory of the Offense Summary and Analysis

Human memory is not set in stone. Eyewitnesses rarely agree. Trauma, competing memories, repression, and blockage augment normal aging. Retelling stories freshens memories but also leads to stereotyping, crystallizing, and adorning. Recalling trauma is itself traumatic and humans avoid fresh pain, pushing memories deep to alleviate guilt. Those who have inflicted pain deserve to suffer, while the sufferers do not; both are trapped by memories. Those who have been tortured are never again at ease with the world and oppressors remain what they have been.

Nazis confessions in court, interviews, and memoirs show common motivations and justifications: superiors, upbringing, and an environment of fear are to blame. This cannot be dismissed as "bad faith," because few people have "mental clarity." Some lie outright, but more fabricate a "convenient reality," substituting less...